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The Justice Department this week accused two former corrections officers of sexually abused prisoners who were held in a now-embarrassing Bay Area prison called “rape clubs.”
Jeffrey Wilson and Lawrence Gacado became the ninth and ten individuals charged by federal prosecutors on alleged crimes at a federal correctional facility in Dublin.
The allegations against Wilson and Gacado are linked to the case that prosecutors say happened in 2022.
It is unknown if either person has a lawyer. The pair’s court dates were also not available immediately.
Wilson, 34, has been charged with five counts of sexual abuse of an inmate, prosecutors said. The alleged abuse took place in the medical room between March 14th and August 16th, 2022, according to court documents.
He was accused of lying to federal agents when he questioned whether he had sexual contact with a female prisoner or whether he had supplied her with contraband, according to court documents.
Gacad, 33, has been charged with one count of abusive sexual contact of different inmates between March 2022 and June 2022.
If convicted, Wilson could face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count of sexual abuse in the ward. and fines of up to eight years and $250,000 for the number of false statements to the agency.
Gacad faces a maximum sentence of two years and a $250,000 fine in prison.
The latest accusations will only be added to the long-standing scandal surrounding the Dublin facility. Prosecutors have become known as “rape clubs” by prisoners and workers because sexual abuse is so rampant.
Documents revealed by the Associated Press alleged that some prison officers were raped and sexually abused their subordinates. Ray J. Garcia, a former prison guard, was convicted in 2022 of sexually abusing him behind a bar. He forced inmates to strip them of nude while he took and kept photos on government-issued mobile phones.
Inmates said they lived in fear during prison, suffering from high anxiety, post-traumatic stress and fear.
The federal government agreed to pay $116 million in December to more than 100 women who allegedly suffered sexual abuse by FCI Dublin employees.
That same month, the Prison Bureau agreed to a consent sentence after being sued by eight inmates who allegedly exposed to widespread sexual abuse, medical negligence and retaliation by prison guards.
Consent Judgments require staff abuse and retaliation, medical care, early release credit application, and close monitoring of prisoners’ timely releases to the Halfway House. This applies to nearly 500 class members who remain incarcerated in federal prisons of more than 12 people.
Along with Garcia, five corrections officers and former prison pastor James Highhouse were either pleaded guilty or were convicted of abuse.
They were all sentenced to 20 months to eight years, with one exception. Ross Klinger, a former corrections officer who served as a one-year home confinement.
Another former correctional officer, Darrell Wayne Smith, was originally charged with 12 counts of sexual abuse in 2023. It rose to a maximum of 15 counts by the Federal University Ju Court in 2024. He is awaiting trial on September 5th.
The FCI Dublin investigation is ongoing, according to the Department of Justice.
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